Shoe and method of making same



P. H. FLAHERTY ET'AL SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME April 14, 1936. 2,037,652

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 29, 1952 6% Attorne; I

p l 5- v P. H. FLAHERTY ET AL, 2,037,652

SHOE AND METHODOF MAKING S AME Filed April 29, '1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Paul H. Flaherty and Francis P. Murphy, Nashua, N. H., assignors to J. F. McElwain 00., Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 29, 1932, Serial No. 608,256

5 Claims.

This invention relates to shoes and to methods of making shoes and certain parts of shoes. The invention is more especially concerned with the quarter linings of shoes and with the methods of making such linings.

The quarter lining for a low or oxford shoe of either the blucher or bal styles includes a long relatively wide section designed to extend around the inside of the counter portion of the shoe, and narrower portions extending forwardly from this wide section and terminating in wings which, in the finished shoe, form the linings for those portions of the quarter at opposite sides of the lacing slit. Such a lining, therefore, consists of a long, relatively narrow piece of leather, very irregular in shape. It is customary to make this whole lining in a single piece, although it is also a common practice to out such a lining in two pieces and to join these two sections together by stitching along a seam which is usually located at one side of the heel seam. Either practice involves a substantial expense for dies, since different dies must be used for different widths and styles of shoes. This method also necessitates considerable waste of the leather from which the quarter linings are cut because of the irregular shape of these parts.

The present invention is especially concerned with these conditions and it aims to improve both the construction and the methods of making quarter linings with a view to effecting economies in the manufacture of these portions of a shoe.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a main quarter lining section constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of wings designed to be secured to the end portions of the section shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing said wings so secured;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing wings of different shape and dimensions secured to the main section of the quarter lining with additional lining members also stitched to them;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lining illustrated in Fig. 4 after it has been secured to the quarter of the shoe by the stop stiching operation;

Fig. 6 is an inside view of a complete shoe lining;

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of a shoe including the lining shown in Figs. 5 and 6;

Figs. 8 to 11, inclusive, are plan views of different wings; and

Fig. 12 is a plan view showing another method of securing a wing to the main quarter lining section.

Referring first to Fig. 1, a quarter lining member is shown at 2 which is intended to extend around the sides and rounded rear end of the heel of the foot in the finished shoe, or, in other words, forms the lining for'the counter portion of the shoe. The lower edge of this member may be notched, as shown at a, to facilitate lasting, and it is also provided with a small notch b in the upper edge to assist the operator in centering this lining member properly with the heel seam of the shoe. This section of the lining also includes portions cc of reduced width designed to extend forwardly from the heel and to lie at opposite sides of the foot, these extensions terminating at points adjacent to the lacing slit of the shoe. A main quarter lining section of this shape may be regarded as a standard section since it can be used in a great variety of styles and widths of shoes. For example, the same section is suitable for use in the entire range of mens shoes from A to E widths in any size without any change.

Most of the variation in quarter linings occurs in the wings which line the parts of the upper leather or quarter at opposite sides of the lacing slit, and according to this invention these parts are made independently of the main section 2. Typical forms of these wings are shown in Fig. 2 .and in Figs. 8 to 12, inclusive. Consequently, in order to make a complete quarter lining suitable for any one of a great variety of styles and widths of shoes, it is simply necessary to select a pair of wings appropriate to the particular shoe to be built, and to stitch or otherwise secure these two wings to the opposite ends, respectively, of the standard main lining section 2. For example, Fig. 3 shows the two wings illustrated at 3-3, Fig. 2, stitched to the opposite ends of the section 2. The particular quarter lining illustrated in this figure is adapted forv incorporation in an oxford shoe of the bal type. Another form of wing designed for use in a bal shoe is shown at 4 in Fig. 10, while different forms of wings intended to be used in the blucher type of shoe are shown in Figs. 8, 9, 11 and 12 at 5, 6, I and 8, respectively.

In securing any wing to the end portion of a standard lining section 2, it is usually preferable to overlap the wing upon the end portion of the extension 0 and to stitch through the wing and the extension, as indicated at d, Fig. 3. In order to assist the operator in positioning the wings correctly, each extension 0 is provided with means for designating the location for the corner and the lower edge of each wing. While such designation may be made in a considerable variety of ways, a simple method consists in providing a notch c, Fig. 1, in the upper edge of each wing and forming a corner f on the outer edge of the extension 0 and properly related to it. The operator places the corner of the wing over the notch e and slightly overlapped upon the lower edge of the notch, and locates the lower edge of the wing in a corresponding relationship to the corner or point i. When the parts have been so positioned the operator runs the seam d, as shown in Fig. 3, this figure also illustrating the proper relationship of the wing to the main section 2.

If desired, however, the edge of the extension 0 may be cut on the desired line as shown at c in Fig. 12, and the edge of one of the wings may be abutted against it and the two secured together by a zig-zag stitched seam It, Fig. 12.

Fig. 4 illustrates a counter lining including a standard section 2 and two wings 66, both of the design shown in Fig. 9. Associated with them are two intermediate lining sections I2-l2 made of fabric and stitched to: the forward ends, respectively, of the main section 2. The lining n xt is secured to the quarter M with which it is to be associated, the securing operation being performed by stitching the two parts together as indicated at 15', Fig. 5. This operation is commonly referred to as top stitching.

The quarter with its lining permanently secured thereto next goes to the eyeletting machine and it is then ready to be assembled with its vamp l5, lining I6 and doubler IT. This operation is performed by stitching the forward edges of the quarter and quart-er lining to the rear edges of the vamp and its lining members, the lines of stitching being indicated in Fig. 6 at 20. Usually this operation is referred to as vamping. The tongue l8 next is secured to the vamp and the lining pieces by the line of stitches indicated at 19.

The foregoing process is typical of the practice followed in making a low shoe of the blucher type according to this invention. The invention, however, is equally applicable to the manufacture of low shoes of the bal type, and it may be used either in following the customary process in which a two-piece toe lining is used, or in making shoes of this type according to the metlu od disclosed in the application of John J. Shea, Serial No. 593,956 now Patent Number 1,983,408, issued December 4, 1934 and in which a one-piece toe lining is employed.

It will be evident from the foregoing that in order to make a quarter lining for either blucher or bal shoes and for different styles and widths of both types, the same standard main quarter section 2 is employed, the variations in style being secured simply, so far as the linings are concerned, by stitching or otherwise fastening appropriate wing pieces to the opposite ends of the lining section 2. Consequently, the invention effects a very substantial saving in expense for dies with which to cut out the linings, and

reduces the waste in the leather from which the linings are cut. In fact, since the wings are relatively small they may frequently be cut entirely from scrap stock. This method further lends itself to variations in the color scheme in the lining of the shoe which could not be obtained by prior processes.

While We have herein shown and described typical embodiments of our invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in a considerable variety of forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described our invention, what we desire to claim as new is:

1. A shoe lining, comprising a quarter lining including a main lining section adapted to extend around the inside of the counter portion of the shoe, two wings secured, respectively, to the opposite forward end portions of said main section, said wings being adapted to line those parts of the quarter at the opposite sides of the lacing slit, a one-piece toe lining, and intermediate lining members connecting said toe lining with the forward edges of said main lining section.

2. That improvement in methods or" making linings for shoes, which consists in making standard main lining sections each adapted to extend around the inside of the counter portion of the shoe and each suitable for use in a wide range of styles of shoes, and securing two wings to the forward ends, respectively, of said main section, said wings serving as lining members for the portions of the quarter which form the opposite margins of the lacing slit, securing intermediate lining members to the forward edges of said main lining section, and securing a one-piece toe lining to said intermediate members.

3. A quarter lining for shoes, comprising a main lining section adapted to extend around the inside of the counter portion of a shoe, and two wings for lining those portions of the quarter which form the opposite margins of the lacing slit, said wings having edge portions substantially paralleling the slit, the two forwardly extending portions of the main lining section being fof reduced width and having their forward end portions secured respectively to the edges of said wings.

4. A quarter lining for shoes, comprising a main lining section adapted to extend around the inside of the counter portion of a shoe, and two wings for lining those portions of the quarter which form the opposite margins of the lacing slit, said wings having edge portions substantially paralleling the slit, the two forwardly extending portions of the main lining section being of reduced width, said wings being abutted respectively against the ends of said forwardly reduced portions and being stitched thereto.

5. A quarter lining for shoes, comprising a main lining section adapted to extend around the inside of the counter portion of a shoe, and two wings for lining those portions of the quarter which form the opposite margins of the lacing slit, said main lining section including two forwardly extending portions of reduced width, the forward end portions of which are secured to the outer edges of the wings, and additional lining members secured to the forward edges of said quarter lining and to the lower edges of the Wings. 

